Notice Me, Sensei
by AnimateObsessive
Summary: Sakura wants Kakashi-sensei to notice her.


-Sakura Haruno, Age 12-

Kakashi looked up as a piece of paper appeared inches from his face. He had been sitting underneath a tree, trying his best to pass over the childish bickering of Naruto and Sasuke.

The piece of paper in question was clutched in the hand of a determined-looking 12-year-old girl. It housed a single query, written in handwriting that suggested a trembling, reluctant grip. The bearer of this question was quivering herself, although slightly, and she was blushing immensely.

_'Do you like me? Yes/No.'_

Kakashi took the paper from the girl and examined the message. He noticed that she had added some little drawings at the borders of it, perhaps to make it more appealing to the eye. Little teddy bears and cute, smiling faces decorated the note. It looked just the sort of thing most young females would compose. That did not make the message any less tolerable for the poor man. Scowling, he withdrew a pencil he had on his person. He glanced once at the anxious girl before he carefully circled the "No" on the paper. This completed, he returned it to her possession with an impassive expression on his face.

Shocked, enraged, and saddened, Sakura felt tears pooling in her eyes. She could not be faulted, given the look on Kakashi's face and his immediate action, for thinking that her sensei was being cruel to her on purpose. She had given him the paper with obvious hope in her young heart, yet he had delivered his answer without needing to think about it and hadn't offered to completely explain it. Clutching the note to her chest as the tears cascaded down her cheeks, Sakura turned and fled.

Kakashi sighed and returned to his book.

[Kakashi]

_What was that all about? Doesn't she know I'm far too old for her? No, she probably doesn't realize it. Girls her age rarely do. It's possible I was being harsh. But the sooner she stops feeling that way, the better. We can't have a normal relationship between sensei and student if she has a little crush on me. I'll...apologize to her tomorrow, but hopefully she'll learn that it's inappropriate for her to feel that way about her sensei. If she still does after how I acted..._

-Sakura Haruno, Age 16-

Sakura frowned at her wardrobe. While she was normally satisfied with it, she was forced to acknowledge how little she had in the way of suitable garments for this specific purpose. Perhaps, she thought sadly, it was because she rarely had need of such clothing. She wasn't the type to require it. But she still persisted, looking through the outfits available to her. She realized that she needed something to serve her in two ways, otherwise she would be quite useless as a kunoichi.

_If only I wasn't so flat-chested, _she thought bitterly.

She wanted something capable of showing off how sexy she could be, yet she noted that there didn't seem to be any such parts of her body to flaunt. Her bosom was nothing to speak off, she was almost completely devoid of curves, and she didn't consider any other part of her attractive enough. However, if she wished to at last get her sensei to notice and fall for her, she had to will these things into existence and work off of them.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, clad in only a bra and panties. Her figure definitely wasn't appealing, she told herself miserably. She had nothing to catch Kakashi's eye. And she needed to catch his eye, for she was certain that he, being older than her and more experienced in the world, had seen many beautiful women who would easily lay waste to her in any contest of physical appeal. Sakura turned around and craned her head to gaze at the back of her reflection, searching for something she could lean on. The only thing she observed was her posterior, which she assumed must be appealing in some way. She had given Naruto several bloody noses and a concussion for staring at it. Perhaps Kakashi would notice it as well, if she attired herself correctly. It was worth an honest try, she decided.

Slightly confident, Sakura started going through her clothes again, this time seeking a pair of shorts.

[Sakura]

_This outfit isn't too bad. I'm dressed like a regular kunoichi, but I have a little sex appeal...right? Kakashi-sensei will notice...right? Please notice, sensei! I don't want all of my hard work to have been for nothing. I've grown up and become a lot more womanly, too. He has to at least notice that! Oh no... What if he notices it _too much? _What if he asks me to marry him? Of course he's almost guaranteed to ask, now that I think about it... I wonder what the rules are regarding a sensei marrying their student. _

[Kakashi]

_Sakura has definitely grown up a little. She's becoming a real kunoichi, instead of obsessing over boys. I'm really proud of her for how far she's come. But why do I get the feeling I should be more wary of her because she's gotten older? And more worried about that little crush she had on me when she was 12?_

-Sakura Haruno, Age 20-

Whoever is shining that bright light in my eyes is going to pay, Sakura thought dourly as she awoke.

She squinted into said light as she ascended from slumber. As she surfaced, she realized that the "bright light" that was being shone unmercifully in her eyes was the sun greeting her. She sat up in bed, idly rubbing the wild forest that was her hair before a brush came to it. She was regretting the events of last night, which had led her to stay up far later than she intended. Fortunately, today she was gifted with no missions, therefore her lack of sleep wasn't too immense of a hindrance.

Kakashi had awakened an hour prior to her. He was in bed next to Sakura, lying on his stomach as he perused Make-Out Paradise. Upon seeing that she was awake, he closed his book and pulled himself into a sitting position beside her. Smiling tenderly, he planted a gentle kiss on her neck.

"Good morning. How was your sleep?"

Restraining a giggle, Sakura pushed the man away. She was often of ill temper after waking, but Kakashi's bemusing amount of affection at this time tended to warm her. She would never fathom what he found so tempting about her first thing after she had awoken.

"Control yourself, Kakashi! I haven't showered yet."

Kakashi chuckled at her objection. He found it ironic that she was telling him to "control himself" when she herself had made no effort to do so the previous night. His affection on this day had merely amounted to a little kiss on the neck. Her unbridled lust had led her to, while on top of him at that, seize his mask in her teeth as she gazed into his eyes with animalistic want. She often turned into little more than a sexually-charged wild animal when she imbibed enough alcohol. At least around him, he surmised.

"We'll shower together," he proposed.

"You pervert!"

Kakashi chuckled yet again at the accusation. After all this time, she still insisted on pulling out that term whenever anything of a sexual nature passed his lips. He thought she would never get used to their relationship and she would certainly never fully accept his personality as something she was strongly attracted to. Even the supposedly "perverted" side of him excited her, a fact he plainly knew. It did not matter if she wouldn't admit it, though. He knew she was far more "perverted" than him, especially when she was intoxicated.

"After we have our shower, why don't I make a late breakfast?"

Sakura allowed herself a smile at his request. She was aware that Kakashi preferred to prepare the meals himself, being used to it after years of living on his own. She did not mind this. She was not a very experienced cook herself and was more than delighted to have Kakashi in charge of this responsibility. Fortunately, he was excellent at meal preparation.

"Let's spend the day away from everyone else," Kakashi suggested. "I don't want you to look at anyone other than me."

He might frustrate her at times, but he always knew how to make her smile.

-Sakura Haruno, Age 25-

"I'll be home late tonight. You can manage on your own, can't you?"

"You worry too much, Kakashi. I'm sure I can take care of dinner without your help."

Sakura saw the irony in telling Kakashi that he "worried too much", as his worrying had saved her from danger many times in the past. And she herself normally fretted over his safety, perhaps even more so than her own. When the pair of them were on missions at the same time, practically on either end of the world, she would occasionally become distracted from her task as she wondered if Kakashi was alright.

"...Kakashi..."

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Promise me you'll come back alive..."

Kakashi paused, gazing into a face that was alive with uneasiness. He was aware of how she felt, because he felt the same way. He knew the ever-present agony of not knowing, the misery of those grim possibilities, and the lament of time that stood still.

"Only if you do," he replied quietly.

He adjoined, forcing a careless smile on his features,

"I know that if I don't come back alive, you'll kill me."

Despite her worry, Sakura smiled. This was partly due to the line itself and partly due to the fact that she knew Kakashi was trying to comfort her in his own way. She appreciated his effort. She hadn't been certain of it at first, but now she decided she was pleased to have Kakashi as her husband.

"I'll see you tonight."

Neither of them knew if this was true, but it soothed them to say it.

Their hands lingered on one another before they departed on their separate ways.


End file.
